Eating Disorders

Bored and restless as usual, I had nothing to do so I decided to go through my notes and came across a poem that I wrote a while ago. It kind of shocked me because I wasn’t writing from personal experience (although I did have a friend who had suffered from this) and I think I just had a late night, ‘think I’m deep moment’. Anyway, instead of letting it collect dust, I thought I’d share it with you. Here goes:

I’m going on a picnic

With my two best friends

Ana and Mia,

They’re kind of mother hens

Can’t leave the house,

Without them by my side,

Guess you could call us

“inseparable”

Everyone else does.

Mum keeps telling me

That they’re a bad influence.

She could never understand

That they’re what keeps me going.

We’re going on a picnic

It’s a warm summers day,

I wasn’t sure what to bring

So I left it to Mia and Ana.

As we spread the checkered tablecloth

And sit down on the grass

Our knees so bony and fragile.

I ask

“What’s to eat”

And in unison they reply.

“We’re not hungry, are you?”

So… Yeah.

I think, nowadays, it’s so much easier to succumb to pressure – from your friends, family or even strangers. It’s also a lot more easily dismissed, even though I think everyone has a much better understanding of the issues around body image and such, as it’s becoming more common (due to increasing pressure) people will assume it’s for attention or not legitimate. I can’t really speak from personal experience but I can imagine how hard it would be to go through something like this without any support. To anyone out there who is having problems with this, please, please tell someone!